Heel guard for inside work shoes



1965 w. R. SHELTON 3,203,117

HEEL GUARD FOR INSIDE WORK SHOES Filed Nov. 2, 1964 INVENTOR.

ZI/YZAM /Y E. 519252 701V United States Patent Office 3,203,117 PatentedAug. 31, 1965 3,203,117 HEEL GUARD FOR INSIDE WORK SHOES William R.Shelton, Box 20, Swiss, W. Va. Filed Nov. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 408,050 1Claim. (Cl. 36-69) My invention is directed toward heel guards for useinside work shoes.

It is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved heel guardof the character indicated which will protect the heel and ankle of theuser from injury.

Another object is to provide a new and improved heel guard of thecharacter indicated which can be easily installed in a work shoe.

Still another object is to provide a new and improved heel guard of thecharacter indicated which can be manufactured easily and inexpensively.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of myinvention will now be explained with reference both to thisspecification and to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of my heel guard;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view through 22 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of my heel guard.

Referring now to FIGURES 1-3, there is shown an integral metal heelguard having a generally U-shaped band 10 which has a generally verticalbut convex shaped outer surface 12 and a generally vertical but concaveshaped inner surface 14. The bottom edge 16 of band 10 lies in ahorizontal plane and is U-shaped. The top edge 18 of band 10 connects atthe ends of the legs 20 and 22 of the band 10 to the bottom edge 16 andrises vertically therefrom at both ends from a height of about one andone-quarter inches adjacent these ends toward the center of the portion24 of the band inter mediate the legs where it attains a height of aboutone and three-quarter inches.

Six generally trapezoidally shaped flanges 26 extend horizontally inwardfrom edge 16 and are equidistantly spaced from each other. Adjacentflanges are separated by V-shaped notches 28. Each flange has acentrally positioned hole 30 for nailing.

In use, the guard is placed into a shoe 32 (after the shoe shank piece34 has first been removed) with portion 24 being flush against theinside back of the shoe and legs 20 and 22 being flush against the rearsides of the shoe. Portion 24 and legs 20 and 22 are shaped as desiredto conform to the curvature of the particular shoe employed. Nails 38are then driven downward into the heel 36 of the shoe to secure theguard in place. The shank piece 34 is then placed back in position.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to thedrawings, my protection is to be limited only by the terms of the claimwhich follows.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

A heel guard having an integral metal structure comprising a generallyU-shaped band having a generally vertical but convex shaped outersurface and a generally vertical but concave shaped inner surface, saidband having top and bottom edges and two legs, the bottom edge of theband being horizontal and U-shaped, the top edge of the band beingconnected to the bottom edge at the ends of the legs and risingvertically therefrom to a maximum height at the center of the portion ofthe band intermediate the legs, and a plurality of separateequidistantly spaced flanges secured to the bottom edge and extendinghorizontally inward therefrom, each flange having the shape of atrapezoid and having a hole adapted to accommodate a nail, said flangesbeing separated by V-shaped notches.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,143,294 6/15McCoy 3668 1,575,466 3/26 Tyler 3668 2,738,600 3/56 Shultz 3668 JORDANFRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

FRANK I. COHEN, Examiner.

